2017 "Word of the Year" announced
<p>Every year Dictionary.com releases a word that it believes sums up the past year. </p>
<p>Dictionary.com said, “The Word of the Year serves as a symbol of the year’s most meaningful events and look-up trends.”</p>
<p>In 2016, the word of the year was “xenophobia”.</p>
<p>This year the word that has been chosen to represent 2017 is “complicit”. </p>
<p>Dictionary.com defines complicit as “choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act". </p>
<p>The judges picked this word due to recent world affairs including the Harvey Weinstein scandal and Trump administration narratives. </p>
<p>Dictionary.com said that this year an interest in the word ‘complicit’ rose after a comedy skit on popular US show <em>Saturday Night Live.</em></p>
<p>In the skit, Scarlett Johansson portrayed Ivanka Trump in a perfume advertisement for a fragrance called “Complicit: The fragrance for the woman who could stop all this, but won’t”. </p>
<p>The day following the skit, Ivanka appeared on a CBS morning show and said, “If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit.”</p>
<p>Viewers were confused by her use of the word, which led many to look up the definition themselves. </p>
<p>During the US Presidential election, leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee were released. After US intelligence agencies pinned Russia as the culprit, rumours emerged that the Trump administration was complicit in the hacking.</p>
<p>The idea of being complicit has also been discussed in the recent insight into Hollywood's sexual misconduct. </p>
<p>Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, allegations of misconduct were also levelled at a number of other famous figures including actors Kevin Spacey and Ben Affleck. </p>
<p>From the allegations, conversations were sparked about how society and organisations were complicit in covering up and belittling the impact of sexual misconduct. </p>
<p>What do you think of the 2017 "Word of the Year"? Share your thoughts in the comments below. </p>
